Radium removal
Radium is a radioactive element that occurs naturally in trace amounts in rocks, soils and some
groundwater. Surface water is usually low in radium, but groundwater can contain significant
amounts of radium due to local geology.
The removal of Radium from water could be done in 2 ways.
With a selective resin which is a single use resin which has a very high loading for the radium. This resin ( usually fixed-bed systems) will see the concentration of radium increase, thus also the radioactivity on the resin will increase. This would require special lined vessels, etc as well as special handling procedures for the saturated resin. This resin would require disposal through a licensed nuclear waste company.
The second option is to use a regenerable Cation resin. This resin will also remove the calcium and magnesium and so doing remove the hardness present. PuriTech's radium removal system is based on using this regenerable resin with the continuous counter current ion exchange ( CCIX ) contactor ION-IX.
A double regeneration cycle every 3 months is advisable to avoid built up of Radium upon the resin beads.
The removal of Radium from water could be done in 2 ways.
With a selective resin which is a single use resin which has a very high loading for the radium. This resin ( usually fixed-bed systems) will see the concentration of radium increase, thus also the radioactivity on the resin will increase. This would require special lined vessels, etc as well as special handling procedures for the saturated resin. This resin would require disposal through a licensed nuclear waste company.
The second option is to use a regenerable Cation resin. This resin will also remove the calcium and magnesium and so doing remove the hardness present. PuriTech's radium removal system is based on using this regenerable resin with the continuous counter current ion exchange ( CCIX ) contactor ION-IX.
A double regeneration cycle every 3 months is advisable to avoid built up of Radium upon the resin beads.
